Critical Review: TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK) vs. Beacon Financial (NYSE:BBT)

Beacon Financial (NYSE:BBT) and TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Beacon Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.29 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. TriCo Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Beacon Financial pays out 48.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. TriCo Bancshares pays out 33.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. TriCo Bancshares has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Beacon Financial and TriCo Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Beacon Financial	0	4	3	0	2.43
TriCo Bancshares	0	5	2	0	2.29

Beacon Financial presently has a consensus price target of $32.75, indicating a potential upside of 6.34%. TriCo Bancshares has a consensus price target of $55.62, indicating a potential upside of 7.70%. Given TriCo Bancshares’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe TriCo Bancshares is more favorable than Beacon Financial.

Profitability

This table compares Beacon Financial and TriCo Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Beacon Financial	17.33%	10.09%	1.13%
TriCo Bancshares	25.10%	10.48%	1.41%

Volatility & Risk

Beacon Financial has a beta of 0.61, suggesting that its stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TriCo Bancshares has a beta of 0.67, suggesting that its stock price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Beacon Financial and TriCo Bancshares”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Beacon Financial	$882.75 million	2.92	$90.27 million	$2.69	11.45
TriCo Bancshares	$538.91 million	3.06	$121.56 million	$4.31	11.98

TriCo Bancshares has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Beacon Financial. Beacon Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than TriCo Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

83.1% of Beacon Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 59.1% of TriCo Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Beacon Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.9% of TriCo Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

TriCo Bancshares beats Beacon Financial on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Beacon Financial

I could not verify a company named Beacon Financial trading on the NYSE under the symbol BBT. That ticker was formerly used by BB&T Corporation, a U.S. financial services company. BB&T provided commercial and consumer banking, insurance, wealth management, mortgage and investment services. It merged with SunTrust Banks in 2019 to form Truist Financial, and BBT is no longer its ticker.

About TriCo Bancshares

TriCo Bancshares is a bank holding company whose principal subsidiary is Tri Counties Bank. The bank offers personal and business banking services, including checking and savings accounts, loans, credit cards, and online and mobile banking. For businesses, Tri Counties Bank provides commercial lending, deposit accounts, cash management, and related financial services. It also offers wealth management and trust services to individuals and organizations. Founded in 1975 and headquartered in Chico, California, Tri Counties Bank serves communities across Northern and Central California, including the Sacramento region and the Central Valley.